


STARdew Labs

by Embrosia



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Cisco is a gamer, Gen, STAR Labs is a big place, Team Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 11:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8205872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Embrosia/pseuds/Embrosia
Summary: Once a gamer, always a gamer.
Even if he has been a little busy lately, Cisco is adamant about finding a new game to play, and a new place to play it. After their friend begins to mysteriously disappear at strange hours without an explanation, Caitlin and Barry think it might be time to hold an intervention.
Stardew Valley isn't so easy for anyone to give up, though- even Barry and Caitlin face the danger of being sucked in.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The Flash/Stardew Valley crossover nobody asked for, yet I wrote anyway! This may be a bit easier to understand if you're a Stardew Valley player/fan, but it's not crucial.
> 
> Quick Game Rundown: Stardew Valley is a pc/mac/linux farming/town simulator game developed by the incredible ConcernedApe. The world is amazingly immersive and I've wasted many hours exploring the mines, fishing, marrying and having a family, and simply farming. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who loves Animal Crossing, Rune Factory or Harvest Moon (especially). 11/10.
> 
> Anyway, this is just a fluffy little piece I've been rolling around in my mind for a while now. I may expand it into a short series in the future. I hope you enjoy (even if it is a bit rushed)!

 

_Once a gamer, always a gamer._

The best part about working at STAR Labs (aside from helping the Flash, which is _awesome_ ) is that, for the most part, everyone is able to enjoy their own space. As the only two employees of a former multi-million-dollar research company, both Caitlin and Cisco have access to cutting edge, top-of-the-range technology. Caitlin, being the more sensible of the two, utilises their excessive space to store medical equipment; portable x-ray machines, ridiculously large syringes, pocket defibrillators, anything she can’t cram into the med bay.

Cisco, on the other hand…well, a guy’s gotta have fun, right?

He takes the idea from Evil Wells- a secret room, accessible only by him- except _his_ room will be used purely for fun, to wind down after pulling a double shift of saving Barry’s butt. The room he chooses is a wide closet space, stuffed with old, mothball-ridden lab-coats and other articles of clothing he’d rather not investigate. It takes a week for him to renovate the space and air it out enough that he can bear the smell.

He wires the door with a modified Draycon Security System and inputs a long code into it. The number pad is nondescript and hopefully won’t arouse suspicion from either Caitlin or Barry. God, he feels like he’s doing something highly illegal for some reason- it’s so much _fun_. No wonder the Snarts are always so chipper. 

Cisco brings his portable projector and one of his two homebuilt gaming rigs. At three in the morning, when nobody is around, he parks his van out the front of STAR and carries three bean-bags, a mini-fridge, a coffee table and a box of snacks and instant coffee inside. He throws up a couple of posters for good measure. Then he leaves as if he’d never been there in the first place.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s another week before Cisco has a chance to try out his new cave. The last time he’d done anything even remotely close to gaming was when he’d been steering Barry’s hologram around the city when Zoom had taken his speed. Combine that with him having absolutely _no_ idea which game to start out with…he’d actually _needed_ the week to think.

Now, though, as he’s browsing through a _Top 10 Indie Games of 2016_ list, Cisco thinks he’s found a gem. It’s marketed as a casual game, which is good- he doesn’t have the time right now to get addicted to a game like _Skyrim_ or  _Overwatch_. It’s supposed to be more of a pastime for him, rather than a way of life. 

The game is called _Stardew Valley_ , and it instantly reminds Cisco of his awkward teenage years, where he’d lock himself in his room for days playing _Harvest Moon_ and _Animal Crossing_ on his Nintendo DS. He watches a few YouTube videos and decides to buy the game while it’s on sale. One night after everyone has left, he stays behind under the guise of tinkering with his Vibe goggles (even though they’re working perfectly fine- _more_ than fine, actually, seeing as how Hartley had given him some pointers in exchange for Cisco repairing his gloves). He grabs an energy drink from the small fridge buzzing in the corner of the room and settles down on a stack of two bean-bags, kicking his feet up on the third. The projector lights up on the wall, and Cisco starts the game.

_New Game_.

He names his character Vibe, of course, and gives his sprite long, dark hair and a pair of goggles that look as close as possible to his real-life ones. He chooses black and grey overalls and picks a cat for his pet. His favourite thing? He thinks for a second, playing with the energy drink in his hands- _caffeine_. Farm name?

_Heh_ , he thinks, smirking to himself. _STARdew Farm_.

 

* * *

 

 

As the days pass by, Caitlin and Barry notice that Cisco’s spending a lot less time at his apartment and a lot more time in STAR; except they can never seem to find him. Sure, he comes running if they page him over the intercom or if they send him a text, but if they set out to actually look for him, it’s like he’s disappeared into thin air.

“He’s been working on his Vibe goggles for weeks,” Barry says one afternoon, pushing himself around the cortex on a wheelie chair. “Every single night, for _two and a half weeks_.”

“He’s not working on his goggles,” Caitlin says, pursing her lips.

“What the hell is he doing all night, then?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Nobody keeps a secret from me, not even Cisco. _Especially_ not Cisco.”

Barry shrivels in his seat at Caitlin’s icy glare. He’s glad to not be on the other end of it for once.

 

* * *

 

 

Cisco jerks awake, the bowl of pretzels nestled in his lap spilling its contents all over the floor. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and stretches out the crick in his neck. Where the hell is he? Oh, of course.

 The projector is still on, and the game is still running. Poor Vibe has passed out and awoken in his bed. Cisco groans and quits out of the game, running his hands through his knotty hair and trying to make himself at least a _bit_ presentable after a night-long gaming binge. Checking his phone, he swears. It’s already ten in the morning- Caitlin and Barry probably think he’s been kidnapped again.

Totally worth it, though. He’d wooed almost everyone in the town last night and had given bouquets to four different bachelors and bachelorettes, intending to choose a suitable marriage partner tonight. He’s stuck between Abigail, with her marvellous purple hair and affinity for eating quartz; constantly-brooding Sebastian (he’s always had a thing for motorbikes and gamer-dudes); quiet, unassuming Penny, her penchant for educating the children of the valley enticing him a _lot_ more than it should; and the newly added, blue-haired Emily, a master seamstress (still probably not as good as Cisco himself, though. He doesn't see _her_ making a superhero suit from scratch). 

Ruminating on who he’ll choose as his beloved, Cisco pads, barefoot, towards the elevator. He rides it to the cortex and runs into Caitlin and Barry, who are sitting at the desk, facing him expectantly.

“You didn’t go home last night.” It’s not a question- Caitlin already knows the answer, apparently.

Cisco kicks his feet sheepishly as he falls into his own chair. “I stayed late, to work on my- uh…”

“Of course,” Barry says. “Your Vibe goggles. Except…” He pulls them from his pocket and waves them victoriously in Cisco’s face, catching him on the nose. “You weren’t working on them, because I _stole_ them!”

“Okay, fine,” Cisco says over the top of Barry’s cackling. “Can’t a guy chill out at his workplace after a long day?”

Caitlin opens her mouth to retort, but Cisco’s already grabbed his goggles and is halfway out of the cortex already, pulling on his shoes and almost tripping as he rushes away.

“I’ve gotta get down to the station,” Cisco huffs. “Gotta meet Joe.”

Once he’s gone, Barry swivels to face Caitlin, his voice unnaturally sly. “It’s Joe’s day off today.”

Caitlin nods once. “I slipped a tracker into his phone case yesterday afternoon to see whereabouts he’s been…” she mimics Cisco’s voice, “ _working on the Vibe goggles_.” 

Barry high-fives Caitlin and watches as she taps away at her tablet for a few minutes. She punches the air when the device lets out a satisfying _beep_.

“He’s been in an old storage closet,” Caitlin says. “I wonder what he’s been doing in there?”

“Only one way to find out,” Barry says, flashing out of the room in a cloud of static yellow.

Caitlin trots after him.

 

* * *

 

After Cisco’s walked around the city a couple of times, and had at least three mochas from Jitters, he thinks it’s safe to return to the lab. He comes bearing gifts- a caramel cappuccino for Caitlin (half strength, skim milk) and a hot chocolate for Barry (with plenty of whipped cream on top- boy needs his calories). The cortex is empty, though.

Cisco shrugs and leaves the drinks on the desk, assuming that they’re off in a side room somewhere. He heads down to his secret room to get in a spot of digital farming before he heads home for a midday nap- provided no metas decide to ruin his plans.

He’s glad he’s not carrying the coffees anymore, because he might have dropped them out of shock. The door to his room is wide open!

For some reason, he suspects to find either Lisa Snart or Hartley Rathaway inside, given their fondness for invading his personal areas. Hell, he would’ve been less surprised to see Harry helping himself to the goodies inside his personal fridge. Instead, Barry and Caitlin are curled up on two of his ( _his!_ ) bean-bags, squabbling over the controller.

“Um,” Cisco says, hovering in the doorway. “How did you guys get in here? How did you _find_ this place?”

Barry replies without looking away from the screen, having finally defeated Caitlin in the battle for first player. “Draycon’s my jam, remember?”

“Draycon’s your jam,” Cisco repeats. He steps into the room and sits down on the third, unoccupied bean-bag. “So, out of every single room in this place, you decide to invade mine?”

“Now we understand why you’ve been here every night,” Caitlin says, popping a pretzel ( _his pretzel!_ ) into her mouth. “This game is quite fun, not to mention adorable.”

“Huh.” Cisco kicks off his shoes and settles into a more comfortable position. “Well, just to let you know, this game’s marketed as ‘casual’, but it’s actually the complete opposite.”

“We know,” Caitlin and Barry say simultaneously.

“We saw how many hours you’ve logged,” Caitlin says, reaching out for the controller and humming in success when Barry finally passes it to her.

“We’re impressed,” Barry adds.

Cisco feels his lips quirk up. “You can’t keep using my account, though. Both of you have to buy your own copy.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Cisco grins. “Multiplayer will be out soon.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this short piece, kudos/comments are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Have a lovely day/night. :)


End file.
